71–80 of 132 posts
Shooter, how did you find this Dr. House? You neglected to talk about this. And I think this is an important piece of information that can benefit us trying to get a resolution for our own mystery illnesses. How do you go about hunting a good doctor?
This is terrible. Is there any question left as to whether private healthcare is a disaster? I have known a few people who have been denied healthcare coverage when it is quite clear that it is due. Either there needs to be a regulatory board that can overrule insurance companies or we need to implement public healthcare.
Public healthcare is not inherently better than private, it has its own problems. I think it is easier and cheaper (both technically and politically) to fix private healthcare incentives than to go the public way.
I am assuming you are an American citizen. If you haven't already, you need to: 1) call your Congressperson's local office (not DC) and ask for someone in constituent services who works with health care issues. Do this tomorrow. If your insurance company is denying you any care, and you have a paper trail, they should help. If your Rep can't help, then contact your two Senators' offices. Generally, Reps are much bett…
It seems awful to me that all of that effort is needed just to make sure your not screwed over by the insurance company :( Or is it just the norm and Im not used to it?
In the US you are completely on your own, and your insurance company is not your friend; no matter how dutiful you were in paying your premiums. If you have a chronic, treatable condition, expect to fight it out with your insurance company 2 to 3 times a year over whether or not they will live up to their contractual obligations.
It is my considered opinion that if Obama wanted to lever the healthcare debate around to actual change, the only tool he would need are the RICO statutes. And I don't think his prosecutors would find it difficult to bring cases.
I think this note deserves a posterous page - whether you add more stories or not. Just for it's online presence prominence. imho, you putting your story on the web will help many who are at the initial misdiagnosed stage. if you don't, I am going to do it (and put your email in the contact). I don't know if I am threatening you or pleading wit you. But please create a posterous - copy the content and email to post@p…
Posting this story elsewhere is something only Shooter should do.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could a doctor in the UK prescribe an experimental treatment?Could he prescribe it and get insurance to pay for it? I bet not without a fight. Yes, because insurance doesn't pay for it. You can get experimental treatment on the NHS - I think it is a little more of a hoop to jump through and depends on the actual hospital your at (for example most will insist other forms of medicine have been tried first). Here doctor…
I think the insurance companies considered Shooter's treatment experimental, which is why they gave him trouble. But apparently did pay at the end.
The problem is that in the US at this time, health insurance companies are structurally evil. Evil in that they are the source of unnecessary pain, suffering and death. That they cause this suffering in the name of their 'fiduciary responsibility' to their shareholders only compounds the evil.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It seems awful to me that all of that effort is needed just to make sure your not screwed over by the insurance company :( Or is it just the norm and Im not used to it?
Speaking from personal experience, it is the norm. In the US you are completely on your own, and your insurance company is not your friend; no matter how dutiful you were in paying your premiums. If you have a chronic, treatable condition, expect to fight it out with your insurance company 2 to 3 times a year over whether or not they will live up to their contractual obligations. It is my considered opinion that if O…
Well I did because I was over there a few weeks ago visiting my cousin and she ranted about it - but she is a super-hardline liberal so I obviously took her comments with care (bit of truth, bit of OTT). Sounds like she might have been spot on!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks. Now who is Shooter? edit: Before I get downvoted because of emotional responses I want to clarify that I really have no idea who Shooter is and neither do I know about the relevance for this site.
I'm nobody, dude. I put my username in the title because I was asked a question in another thread and couldn't think of a good title for my long answer. Sorry for the confusion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyman
Nobodies dont speak up about their experiences.
Have you consider about Ayurvedic treatment [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda ]? It's based on the philosophy of Balancing the senses. Compared to western medicine, where focus is on attacking the infection and thereby causing other ailments, Ayurveda treatment will help to keep the balance of the system, which would be more comfortable. Just give a thought on it. In this part of the world, there are lot of cas…
As someone who has gone thru the whole onslaught of visiting several doctors for my sciatica plus degenerating lumbar discs - I was told by many doctors in the US that I am at the risk of being paralyzed . To put it mildly, I was scared. I then went for 2 months to India(kerala) where they diagnosed my problem as something that was the result of digestive problems. I had no faith in the daily treatment; I questioned the rationale of what they were doing(eg- enema with herbs and medical oil) to morning-medical-castor-oil treatments. But after 2 weeks, I was not limping.After 3 months, I was walking normal as anyone. At the end, I was told by the ayurvedic doctors that any more chemicals(by that they meant allopathic medicine) and my body would have made slower progress.
I also went thru the insurance drama- doctor 'adviced' me to take an x-ray so not to get into insurance troubles. So a whole 2 weeks later - I get my mri to know which of my discs have problem. There was this pain specialist who was so eager to take me 'once more' to the operation theatre to chip out a part around the disc(which he did twice). The nerve specialist was another story - interested in my occupation and annual salary over my pain.